A harmful pseudoscience that claimed humans could be improved by selective breeding, misused to justify terrible discrimination.
From Greek 'eu' (well) and 'genos' (birth), literally 'well-born.' Coined in 1883 by Francis Galton, the field was based on a misunderstanding of genetics and evolution.
Eugenics is a tragic example of how scientific-sounding ideas can be weaponized—it was used to justify forced sterilization and worse, yet actual genetics proved that eugenics ideas were scientifically nonsense from the start!
Eugenics pseudoscience systematically justified removing women's reproductive autonomy and bodily choice; disproportionately targeted women of color, disabled women, and poor women for forced sterilization and breeding programs.
Use precisely with historical context: name victims by gender, race, and disability; avoid sanitized language that obscures gendered violence.
Women's reproductive justice advocates (especially Black feminists and disability justice leaders) have reframed autonomy and choice as ethical counterweights to coercive eugenic history.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.